actually, I mean I wish I HAD done something. My priorities were messed up.

I had an 8:15 AM appt this morning downtown in a 6-floor building. Some of the floors require sign-in before 9. The floor I was going to is opened at 7.

Okay. So, as it happens, the security guard is Asian. As I came into the building today, two people who were also evidently involved in building management and were also Asian were getting on the elevator, and a young Black man was also getting on the elevator. I got on the elevator.

The two building people watched the young man try to punch two different floor numbers and then asked him where he was going. He didn't understand them and when he finally understood what was being asked, he replied and they didn't understand him. They finally made it clear to him that he needed to register at the front desk before the floor he wanted would be unlocked.

This young man looked at the white woman who could punch the floor she wanted and at the two Asian people who were telling him to get off the elevator and sign in, and he said, in real distress, "that's as racist as FUCK."

I didn't think quickly enough. I should have gotten off the elevator right then and given him a better explanation -- that it has to do with when certain floors open and not anything to do with who's trying to get to those floors.

I was late for my appointment and I thought I couldn't help. I still don't know if I could have helped in any way but it really bothers me that I thought more about being late than I thought about his distress.

And you know, it's not that I'm trying to argue that there isn't plenty of racism here. I'm not. But this wasn't an example of it, and I hate for him to think that every single interaction he has is driven by racism.

I just had to get this off my chest. I feel so bad for that young man.


~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

..i understand the situation (and your genuine concern), but every inconvenience in this world isn't because of racism.

making assumptions based on your surroundings (which is what he did) isn't the smartest thing to do when people are trying to help you. the problem wasn't the language barrier/miscommunication. the real issue is that he took offense to someone giving him instructions that he didn't like.

*not sure if that info is clearly posted somewhere in that lobby, but it should be.

our studio is in a bldg that requires badging or sign-in for guest & deliveries during off-hours. i've seen quite a few similar scenarios play out in the same fashion because someone assumed that they were being profiled unfairly.

the truth is: that signage is required for the safety of everyone in the bldg.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

but the policy isn't posted, and he saw three people getting on an elevator without signing in. I appreciate your perspective and I hope sometime he gets a broader understanding of this kind of policy, but I just really feel for him right now.

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

..for everyone to see.

you can't do anything about the past, but its never too late to correct the issue.


*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

>actually, I mean I wish I HAD done something. My priorities
>were messed up.
>
>I had an 8:15 AM appt this morning downtown in a 6-floor
>building. Some of the floors require sign-in before 9. The
>floor I was going to is opened at 7.
>
>Okay. So, as it happens, the security guard is Asian. As I
>came into the building today, two people who were also
>evidently involved in building management and were also Asian
>were getting on the elevator, and a young Black man was also
>getting on the elevator. I got on the elevator.
>
>The two building people watched the young man try to punch two
>different floor numbers and then asked him where he was going.
> He didn't understand them and when he finally understood what
>was being asked, he replied and they didn't understand him.
>They finally made it clear to him that he needed to register
>at the front desk before the floor he wanted would be
>unlocked.
>
>This young man looked at the white woman who could punch the
>floor she wanted and at the two Asian people who were telling
>him to get off the elevator and sign in, and he said, in real
>distress, "that's as racist as FUCK."
>
>I didn't think quickly enough. I should have gotten off the
>elevator right then and given him a better explanation -- that
>it has to do with when certain floors open and not anything to
>do with who's trying to get to those floors.
>
>I was late for my appointment and I thought I couldn't help.
>I still don't know if I could have helped in any way but it
>really bothers me that I thought more about being late than I
>thought about his distress.
>
>And you know, it's not that I'm trying to argue that there
>isn't plenty of racism here. I'm not. But this wasn't an
>example of it, and I hate for him to think that every single
>interaction he has is driven by racism.
>
>I just had to get this off my chest. I feel so bad for that
>young man.
>
>
>~ ~ ~
>All meetings end in separation
>All acquisition ends in dispersion
>All life ends in death
>- The Buddha
>
>|\_/|
>='_'=
>
>Every hundred years, all new people

it's a standing appointment and I had had a conversation with them a few weeks ago in which they said they were understaffed on Fridays and if I'm late I may have to wait for a while. So I was being selfish and thoughtless.

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

|\_/|
='_'=

Every hundred years, all new people

Would've been a bit longer if you would've Dove into someone's mentally unstable immature horseshit

could have also been exhausting for him

And if he's the type that looks for signs of racism in all his interactions, the elevator experience delivered and was think piece/fb status worthy. So either way he's straight.

Ps I don't think carefully parsing seemingly-racist instances from actually racist instances only make a difference to the victim if instances of actual racism were a rare occurence in his/her life.

>Ps I *think* carefully parsing seemingly-racist instances
>from actually racist instances only make a difference to the
>victim if instances of actual racism were a rare occurence in
>his/her life.

It saw his dark hands and were like nope.

I'm sure they explained it to him and if after that he didn't believe the Asian security guy he probably wasn't going to believe a middle aged white lady.

Any sane normal person would have asked why and gotten a good explanation before crying racism. You're not responsible for dealing with people who have issues.

it happens

humans walk through life unsure about the intentions of others

and

we are for the most part insecure

add a layer of negative racial energy / racial hyper awareness

and you get situations like this where you are a. unsure of yourself and b. not sure if there is a racial component to the interaction


he just cracked and didnt keep a cool head about it

is whether they have somewhere else to be in that moment. so if you were late to wherever you were going and decided not to "help" (debatable whether you could call it that, as the guy would've gotten the same explanation that you would've given him at the front desk), that doesn't really say anything about your character one way or another. it's human nature.

>And you know, it's not that I'm trying to argue that there
>isn't plenty of racism here. I'm not. But this wasn't an
>example of it, and I hate for him to think that every single
>interaction he has is driven by racism.

Intrigued. What makes you think the guy thinks every single interaction he has is driven by racism?

My guess? I doubt he thinks every single interaction he has is driven by racism. Likely, he at least has friends, loved ones, and family who interact with him in non-racist ways. Hopefully he spends quality time with them, which may likely help him to differentiate between racist and non-racist interactions. I can only pray that's the case. But who knows? Family and friends can be complicated.

Helping Black folks understand/"see" when racism isn't happening is neither here nor there. Because ultimately, the issue of racism isn't about Black perceptions and how accurate such perceptions might be.

I think it was best that you did nothing.

> I feel so bad for that young man.

Why?